We Found Each Other
by Equalityforall
Summary: Kurt is at a rough time in his life. At school he's bullied, and at home, he's deeply closeted. Blaine is homeschooled and lives with his grandmother. Both boys are lonely. Follow them beginning when they meet and watch their relationship progress from friendship to romance. How will Blaine's grandmother take their relationship? How will Burt?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Bye dear!" Blaine's grandmother Janet calls from where she's lounging in the living room, sipping tea and crocheting for the Girls In Hats project through church.

Blaine, who was just stepping outside, turns around and hurries to his grandmothers side, "Sorry Grams, I almost forgot," He says, leaning down to wrap his arm around his grandmother's thin frame and kiss her rosy cheek.

Janet pats her grandson's cheek in return, "Have fun at work dear," She smiles.

"I always do," Blaine chuckles, "I'll see you tonight. Love you grams."

"Love you too dear. Now get out of here before you're late and Mrs. Lovell gets you in trouble," She remarks, swatting Blaine's backside as he turns to hurry out the door.

Blaine laughs, tracing his footsteps back to the front door while shaking his head. His smile never leaves as he whistles a tune, one that he'd just finished learning to play on the piano. He practically skips to his car, doing a playful twirl when he reaches the driver's side, before hopping in the vehicle. It isn't the nicest of cars, but it was his grandfather's and grams gave it to him last year for his 16th birthday. He's just thankful that he _has_ a car.

As soon as the engine rumbles to a start, Blaine flicks the radio on to the nearest pop station, immediately opening his mouth to belt out the words. He backs out of the driveway carefully and glances in his rearview mirror to make sure the garage door is closed before he starts down the road. Grams is always on his case about closing it.

Halfway to work Blaine glances at his clock, mentally counting how many minutes he has until he'll be considered tardy. Luckily, he always leaves himself a cushion of ten minutes to ensure he's not late. He hates being late. He feels that it's rude and irresponsible and he's neither of those things.

He pulls into his favorite parking spot five minutes early and switches off the car, looking into the rearview mirror to straighten his bow tie and smooth down his dark brown, curly hair, held together with just the right amount of product. He's always nothing less than put together when he's in public.

When he deems himself proper, he slides his keys into the front pocket of his leather bag and grabs it from the passenger seat. He makes his way to the large double doors in the center of a brick building. As soon as he enters, he breathes in and closes his eyes. He loves this place. He loves the atmosphere. This is where he feels at home. His favorite part is the smell. He loves the smell of old books, and new books, and just plain books. Sometimes he wishes there's a cologne that smells like books; he would buy it in an instant.

"Ah Blaine, you're here," A voice interrupts his musing, "I was beginning to worry because you are usually ten minutes early."

"Hi Mrs. Lovell," Blaine smiles cheerfully, heading to the office, "You look extra beautiful today," he charms.

Mrs. Lovell blushes lightly, "Oh stop it you, I'm just an old lady."

"30's not old Mrs. Lovell," Blaine winks, heading off into the back room to check in.

The 59-year-old woman shakes her head, "That boy is something else," She mutters.

Blaine grabs a cart filled with books, and heads between the shelves.

* * *

The bell after last period rings and Kurt sighs, carefully placing his books one by one into his bag, making sure not to hurry. He has to time his departure exactly right, or he'll have a run-in with the football players.

He waits a few more moments before picking up his bag and heading to the door.

"Oh Kurt, can I talk to you for a minute?" His teacher calls from where she's sitting at her desk grading papers.

Kurt sighs, _so much for perfect timing. _He turns around and proceeds to make his way over to his teacher's desk, dreading the confrontation with the bullies that is sure to happen later.

His teacher proceeds to tell him that she's very impressed with his last essay and it's such an inspirational piece of literature yada, yada, yada. Kurt is barely paying attention though, just nodding and thanking her. It's nothing he hasn't heard before. Besides, he's too caught up in his thoughts about how to get out of this hell hole without being thrown into lockers or worse, getting thrown in the dumpster. He'd gotten through the day mostly unscathed and he wants to keep it that way.

Finally his teacher lets him go and he leaves the classroom, taking a deep breath and looking for any signs of the jocks.

The coast is clear from what he can tell so he makes a mad dash to the front doors. The school is already mostly cleared out, only a few stragglers trying to get to their after-school activities. Kurt is about halfway to the exit and he can almost taste freedom. But he's never this lucky.

He yelps as pair of hands grab his shoulders and the next thing he knows, he's on the floor, his back throbbing.

Kurt squeezes his eyes shut, not wanting to open them and see his tormentors.

"Open your eyes homo," Karofsky sneers.

Kurt grits his teeth, knowing that if he doesn't do what he's told, it will not pretty. He opens his eyes, immediately regretting it when an icy drink hits his face. Karofsky and Azimio high-five, walking away while laughing. Kurt whimpers.

He stays there for another few minutes, a few tears making his way down his cheeks, mixing with the cherry slushy. His eyes are stinging, but it's not anything he isn't used to.

He figures that the more this happens, the more he'll be able to tolerate it. But, it's still just as bad as the first time. He hates that he cries about it. He hates that he lets it get to him. He shouldn't care anymore. But he does. And he cries. He's an emotional person. On the positive side, the tears help wash the slushy from his stinging eyes.

He finally picks himself up and pushes open the bathroom door, pulling out an extra shirt that he always leaves in his backpack for this occasion. He changes and washes the sticky drink out of his hair, letting the brunette strands dry randomly, not caring anymore. He glances in the mirror. he looks like hell. His hair's sticking up at awkward angles and his eyes are bloodshot. His shirt's wrinkly and he grimaces, quickly looking away.

He exits the building safely and hurries to his car, throwing his bag onto the passenger seat before getting in himself. He's exhausted, emotionally and physically, and all he wants to do is go home and curl up in his bed with a chocolate bar and a Disney movie. But he can't do that because his dad would question him on why he isn't at football practice and he would have to figure out what to tell him and he's just too exhausted for that.

He sighs and makes his way to the place he hides every night after school for two hours until football practice is over. It's the only place he feels that he can go and not have to worry about anyone seeing him, wondering why he's there. Or worse, his bullies finding him there.

He pulls into the parking lot, grabs his bag, and hurries into the building. He just wants to find his table in the darkest corner and hide from the world.

He quickly walks to the back of the building with his head down, swerving through shelves of books to get to his destination. Usually the library is pretty empty. It isn't the most popular place in Lima, Ohio and for that, Kurt is grateful. He doesn't really want to be around people now.

He plops into a chair against the wall, shoves his bag under the table and sighs, closing his eyes for a minute. _Peace and quiet at last. _He's so tired of high school. He doesn't have any friends there, and nobody except his teachers like him. He may put on a confident show on the outside when around people, but on the inside, he's hurting. It hurts so much that nobody likes him, that nobody pays him any mind. He feels completely and utterly alone. He has his dad, of course, but even so, his dad barely knows him.

Burt thinks his son is the kicker on the football team. He thinks he dates girls and likes beer and baseball hats. His dad thinks he listens to Mellencamp and goes over to friend's houses to play video games.

The Kurt that Burt thinks his son is, is all a lie. If only his dad knew that Kurt goes to the library every night instead of football practice, that he dreams of having a romantic boyfriend someday, that he hates beer, that he despises baseball hats with a passion and much prefers fedoras. If only he knew that Kurt has Vogue magazines hidden under his bed, and he listens to Whitney Houston and has dozens of Disney and theatre movies and soundtracks hidden with his fashion magazines.

He can almost picture the disappointment that would be on Burt's face if he knew half of what his only son truly is.

Yes, Kurt is completely and utterly alone. All he wants is someone to talk to, to laugh with, to bond with about the things he loves and is passionate about. He's so lonely that most nights, he cries himself to sleep. In fact, he finds himself crying all the time. He's so angry and mad and hurt at the world and he feels that one day he might run out of tears all together.

Kurt is startled from his thoughts when he hears his phone chime, telling him he's received a text.

He frowns. The only person who texts him is his dad, and he knows that Kurt's at "football practice" now.

Kurt pulls the device out of his bag and swipes his pass code. The number is unknown and he curiously opens the message.

_u beter watch ur faggy little fairy ass homo u got off easy today_

Kurt's heart clenches at the words and his face scrunches up. _Damn it! I'm fucking crying again!_ A tear makes its way down his cheek, but he doesn't fight it.

He's never gotten a threatening text from his school tormentors before. He's always made sure to keep his number to himself, not even putting it on school forms. Bullying through text feels like they're invading his sanctuary. He's being bullied in the only place he feels safe and it hurts more than being shoved into a locker.

He's beginning to wonder how much longer he can take this; take life.

* * *

Blaine is busy stacking books onto the shelves in the back of the library, humming quietly to himself. He really enjoys doing this. Books are his passion and he can't fathom a life without them. All day he's surrounded by books, whether he's reading them at home for school, or reading them for fun, or stacking them, or just looking at them.

Blaine abruptly stops when a book catches his eye. He reads the title: _Modern Physical Organic Chemistry_

Blaine smiles, snatching up the book and opening it to the first page, scanning through. He decides it looks interesting enough and weaves through the shelves of books, towards the front of the building so he can check it out and put it in his bag to take home.

As he's checking out the book, the front doors to the library open and he glances up. It's the boy who comes every night of the weekday. Blaine doesn't know his name, but he sees the boy almost everyday and for some reason, he's curious about him. _Why does he come alone? Why does he always come for exactly two hours? Why does he always hurry to the back of the building without looking around? Why does he always look so sad?_ Blaine's so intrigued and he just wants to know more about this beautiful, blue-eyed boy.

A couple of times Blaine's come so close to pushing away his shyness and insecurities and talking to the boy, even if it's just a hello, but he always chickened out.

Today, however, the boy seems even more tired and sad than usual, and Blaine feels his own smile disappear. How can he smile when he's staring at a boy who looks so lost and alone?

Blaine startles from his thoughts when he hears a throat clearing from behind him and he turns around to see a woman waiting for the self-checkout to be open. he apologizes softly and makes his way to the office to put his newfound book into his bag.

He then immediately goes back to his cart of books needing to be shelved.

He knows where the boy always sits and he quietly rolls his cart over to the shelves near the corner, trying to get another glance at the mysterious, brunette boy.

Sure enough, as he peaks through the book shelves, he sees him sitting there, his eyes closed. Blaine takes a moment to really look at the boy. He's truly beautiful. He's kind of like an angel with his skin so pale and without a blemish. Even his hair is angel like. It looks so soft and smooth and Blaine gets the urge to touch it.

Blaine hears a chime and the boy at the table startles, opening his eyes. Blaine watches as the boy reaches under the table and into his bag, pulling out a phone.

Blaine can't help but smile at the look of confusion on the boys face, but it's erased immediately and replaced with a frown when the boy's look of confusion is taken over by a look of pain and fear. _What happened? What did he just receive on his phone? _

Blaine looks back up to boys face and his breath hitches. He sees tears slowly making their way down the angel's face and Blaine suddenly feels his own tears surfacing. _Why is this effecting me so much? It's just a stranger! I've never even talked to him before!_

Blaine continues to watch the boy for a minute, the cart of books waiting to be shelved completely forgotten. _What should I do? I can't leave him here like this!_

He can't stand another minute of this. He needs to see the boy smile. He needs to wipe those tears off his beautiful face and comfort him until he isn't sad anymore.

Something about this boy intrigues him and Blaine can't stand it when the boy cries.

Blaine takes a deep breath and slowly makes his way towards the boy, not wanting to scare him.

* * *

Kurt sets his phone down and a small sob escapes his mouth. _Will this ever end? _

"Excuse me? I'm sorry, I just, I mean, I saw you and...are you okay?" Blaine asked timidly, not wanting to overstep.

Kurt hears a voice and quickly looks up, wiping his eyes with his sleeve and sniffling, trying to compose himself quickly, "Of course, yeah. Um...yeah," He smiles shakily at the boy in front of him who looks to be about his age. The first thing Kurt notices are the boy's hazel eyes which looked so sincere and warm. He doesn't want to look away from them, but he's embarrassed about being caught like this so he turns his gaze down to the tabletop.

Blaine sees the boy try to smile, but it's weak. He looks into the boy's eyes, just realizing how captivatingly blue they are, like pools of crystal. The boy looks down embarrassed and Blaine instantly misses his gaze.

A few moments pass by in silence before Kurt feels the table shake a little as the boy sits across from him. His heartbeat picks up and he's suddenly very nervous. _Who is this boy and what is he doing? Is he another bully? God, why can't people leave me alone!_

Blaine can see how nervous the boy looks when he sits down, and he's about to get up and leave him be, when he noticed the boys phone resting on the table next to his arm. The phone is still lit up and he glances at it without really thinking about how it's probably private. Someone had made the boy cry and Blaine is angry at whoever did it.

Blaine glances at the words on the text and he gasps.

Kurt realizes that the boy has just read his text when he hears him take in a sharp breath. He immediately starts freaking out. _What if the boy knows his dad and tells him? What if he's a stupid homophobic like most of the people in Lima? _He immediately begins talking, trying to undo what the boy's just read, "It's not what you think! It's just my-my friends and I, we j-joke around and stuff. That's just my friend." Kurt says panicking, wringing his hands.

Blaine listens to the boy's excuse and immediately wants to comfort him, but first he wants to know the truth. If this is what he thinks it is, he has a lot more in common with this boy than he'd originally thought. "Why are you crying then? If you were just joking around?" Blaine asks softly.

Kurt knows he's caught, "I-I," he stutters. The boy offers him a comforting smile and Kurt looks away, "It's nothing." He manages to get out, more bitterly than he had intended. There's a small pause before Kurt asks, "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" the boy asks back, confused. _Isn't it kind of obvious? I'm talking to you. _He thinks

"Yeah," Kurt whispers, "Why are you talking to me?" Nobody ever just talks to him except his teachers and his dad. People usually either avoid him, or pretend he doesn't exist. Or bully him.

"I think I just…well," Blaine starts, "You looked upset and I...Do you need someone to talk to? I mean, I'm a great listener." He adds a sincere smile to the end of his sentence.

Kurt stares at the boy for a moment. _He's asking if I want to talk to him about why I'm upset? Nobody's ever done that, not even my dad. _Kurt opens and closes his mouth like a fish, not really knowing how to reply. _He can't talk about his problems with a stranger can he? What if this boy is one of Karoksy's sidekicks? _

As if realizing Kurt's dilemma, the boy quickly cuts through the silence, holding out his hand, "I'm so sorry! You don't even know my name. I'm Blaine."

Kurt looks at the Blaine's hand before timidly shaking it, "I'm Kurt."

"Kurt," Blaine echoes, and Kurt likes the way it sounds rolling off his tongue with ease.

Kurt smiles a little less shakily than the last time. _There's no way Blaine knows Karofsky. He's too polite._

There's a silence between them for a minute, both just kind of looking at each other.

Finally Blaine says, "So um...are you okay? I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but..." he trails off, a hopeful look on his face.

Kurt thinks about it for a minute. _Should he tell Blaine? He's known him for only a couple of minutes. He really just needs someone to talk to though. He doesn't know how much longer he can keep all the bullying bottled in. And maybe the best person to tell is someone he'll never see again._

Kurt clears his throat, "Y-You read the text."

Blaine nods slowly, gulping.

It's quiet again before Kurt speaks up, "I," He clears his throat, "I don't know."

"It's okay Kurt. I know that we barely know each other. You really don't have to tell me. I just...saw you so upset and I...I guess I just want to help," Blaine says nervously.

Kurt just stares at him, "You want to help?" he asks incredulously.

"Well, I mean I..." Blaine trails off, trying to figure out what to say before settling on, "Yeah."

"Why?" Kurt whispers, playing with a string on his shirt sleeve.

"I don't know," Blaine whispers truthfully, and then says louder, "I just do. And you look like you need a friend to talk to."

"Yeah, I don't know Blaine. I don't know if I can trust you." Kurt says bitterly, putting up his walls, "I don't know you at all, why would you help me?"

Blaine is silent, still trying to figure out that for himself.

"I know, 'you don't know,'" Kurt scoffs, "I have to go."

And before Blaine knows it, Kurt is gone and he's left at the table alone.

Kurt hurries out of the building, feeling worse than when he had arrived. _Why did I have to be such a bitch to Blaine? It seemed like he was only trying to help. _Kurt slams his car door and hits the steering wheel with his palm, resting his face on his hands. As much as he wanted to tell Blaine everything, he couldn't. He doesn't let people in easily and he doesn't like being seen so vulnerable.

Kurt turns on the car and looks at the time. an hour before football practice is over. Kurt sighs and turns off the car. He'll just have to wait in here because there is no way he can face Blaine now.

* * *

It takes a moment for Blaine to figure out what had just happened. It seems like Kurt, _that's such a pretty name, _was maybe going to open up to him, but then before he could even blink, the boy was running out the door.

Blaine wanted to call after him, stop him and bring him back to the table, but he didn't want to push him. Obviously this is a serious subject, judging by the text Kurt had received, and Blaine didn't want to open any wounds or anything. He just wanted to help Kurt, but he didn't really know what the boy wanted or needed. _Did I maybe push too much?_

Blaine sighs and rubs his hand over his face. He thinks he knows what Kurt is going through. He'd gone through the same thing at his old school years ago. Bullying and being called horrible names like the ones in the text. It makes Blaine feel sick that Kurt is going through this and all he wants to do is stop it all.

Blaine is finally happy after years of fighting and he wants Kurt to be happy too. He wants to see Kurt smile. To see his beautiful eyes light up. _Maybe I'll see him tomorrow? He always comes on Fridays. _

Blaine stands up, _That's what I'll do. I'll try again tomorrow, but maybe start with a light conversation so we can get to know each other and he'll trust me._

At that, Blaine hurries back to his cart of books and begins shelving again, thinking about what he will say to Kurt tomorrow.

* * *

Kurt waits in his car for an hour, not really doing much. He can't get Blaine out of his head though. Nobody has ever shown him such kindness.

At 5:15, he pulls out of the parking lot and makes his way home, A Whole New World playing lightly from his speakers. He opens the front door and makes his way downstairs to his bedroom, changing into comfy clothes.

"Kurt! Dinner's here!" his dad calls down the stairs.

Kurt sighs and slowly makes his way back upstairs, carrying his homework that is due tomorrow under his arm.

"Hey dad." Kurt says quietly, pulling out some spinach and a red pepper from the fridge for salad.

Burt drops a greasy cheese pizza onto the table and grabs a beer from the fridge, "Want one kid?" He turns to Kurt.

"Dad, I really shouldn't be drinking alcohol. I'm underage." Kurt states, pouring himself a glass of water.

Burt shrugs and falls into a seat at the table, immediately grabbing two slices of pizza, not caring that some grease had dripped onto the table.

Kurt quickly wipes it up with a napkin and sits down, stabbing his salad.

"You can drink as long as I give the okay." Burt says, popping a corner of pizza into his mouth.

Kurt doesn't reply. He doesn't want to tell his dad he thinks beer is revolting.

"How was football practice?" Burt asks through his mouthful of pizza.

Kurt tries not to cringe at the fact that his dad is talking with a mouthful of food, "Great," he lies.

"I'm sorry that I can't make it to your games kid. I really want to get to at least one of them, but for some reason the Anderson's insist that I only work for them when they are gone, and unfortunately, Friday's the only night both of them are gone. The job pays too well for me to turn it down," Burt takes a long swig of his beer.

Kurt's eyes flick to his salad, "I get it dad. It's okay." He says, feeling guilty that he's lying so much. When Burt had come to Kurt mid-week to tell him about a new job he had gotten, working on the Anderson's yard, Kurt had been relieved. He didn't know what he would have done because obviously his dad would be at the football games and realize his son isn't actually on the team. He 'd decided his only option was to cross that bridge when he came to it, but luckily the problem is solved.

"No it's not kid and I want to make it up to you. Saturday night, you and me, we're going to a Buckeye's game."

Kurt inwardly cringes. He hates going to football games with his dad. He always has to try to act interested, when in reality, the sight of huge, sweaty men tackling each other makes him want to be sick.

"Yeah, sure," he says, trying to act excited.

"You don't seem like you want to go. Why not?" Burt asks, eyeing his son.

"No, no!" Kurt quickly says, "It's just, they better win. They've played so poorly lately and it's hard to watch them embarrass themselves." He covers up.

Burt laughs, "Well, we'll see. They're playing the Dolphins who haven't had the best year either."

Kurt smiles, although it probably looks more like a grimace, "I'm going to go do my homework."

"Alright kid. There's a game on later tonight, so be quick."

Kurt hurries out of the kitchen, bringing his books back downstairs with him. He was originally going to work on his homework upstairs, but now he just wants to be alone.

Kurt almost smiles at the irony. He's so lonely, yet he want's to be alone now.

* * *

******Thanks so much for reading! **Let me know what y'all think and whether it's worth continuing because if y'all are interested, I've got a bunch more for this story. 

**xoxo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everybody! Thank you all so much for reading/favoriting/following my story! I also want to thank butterfly-girl for the thoughtful review. I've just made this account a few days ago so I could put this story on, so I apologize for not knowing how to reply to reviews.**

**I'm hoping to update once a week or so, probably on Sunday. We'll see how well I can manage writing this story and my crazy busy life, but I hope to keep the updating regular. That being said, here is chapter 2!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

The next day at school, Karofsky and the rest of the jocks are even worse to Kurt, actually seeking him out to abuse him.

Kurt finds himself changing three different times because of rips or blood/food stains, and he's late to class for almost every period. He can feel the cuts and bruises on his back, which are mainly from hitting the edge of lockers, but he doesn't have any way to clean them. They'll just have to heal on their own. Hopefully they won't get infected.

By the time the last bell rings, Kurt is so fed up and tired. He just wants to get the hell away from school as fast as he can. Fortunately, he manages to escape to his car without another run-in with any bullies. He couldn't have sped faster out of that parking lot.

With his dad working at the Anderson's until 9:00 this evening, Kurt gets the house to himself, and he can't wait. For dinner, he's going to prepare himself some baked salmon with a side of grilled zucchini and summer squash. While that's cooking, he's going to blast his Wicked CD, singing along to his heart's content, while applying his favorite cleansing mask. Then, he'll veg on the couch and watch The Notebook, while thoroughly enjoying his salmon. There's no way Kurt is letting this night go to waste. He hardly ever gets the house to himself and he's going to enjoy every damn minute of it.

* * *

Saying that Blaine is disappointed that Kurt hadn't been at the library friday evening is an understatement. He was really looking forward to talking to the boy again. When he'd been glancing at the doors every few seconds around the time when Kurt usually arrives, and the boy never did, he was really sad. He was also a little worried. What if the person who threatened Kurt yesterday did something really awful to the boy? Blaine would feel horrible that he didn't do anything while he could have.

He goes home that night worried and upset. His grandmother notices, but Blaine doesn't want to talk about it, and she doesn't pry.

That whole weekend Blaine's thoughts are on a certain blue-eyed boy. As a distraction he tries to read, but he can't concentrate. So he tries to make conversation with his grandmother, but he zones out as soon as she starts talking. It doesn't help that he can't sleep. Every time he closes his eyes, he imagines Kurt being beat up by a bunch of big guys and that brings back memories of when he was bullied.

The more he thinks about it, the more his mind makes up all these horrible things that must have happened to Kurt, and the more he worries about the other boy.

Monday morning, he gets up early and makes breakfast for gram. When they sit down to eat and Blaine still seems just as sad and out of it as he has all weekend, Janet finally speaks up, "Honestly Blaine, what is with you? Are you okay?"

Blaine blinks for a minute, just staring at his grandmother, trying to process what she's just said, "Oh yeah. I'm fine grams."

"Blaine, I know you. You're not fine. What is going on?"

Blaine sighs, "I met this boy on-"

"Uh-oh," Janet smiles knowingly, "This is about a boy."

Blaine shakes his head quickly, "No, no grams! Not like that! He was at the library and he was crying and I tried to talk to him and not like that grams," Blaine says quickly, blushing.

"He was crying?" Janet asks curiously, suddenly serious, "Is he okay?"

"I don't know!" Blaine cries out, "He ran out and then he wasn't there on Friday and he always is and maybe something bad happened to him!" Blaine is really working himself up. He's now completely convinced that something's happened to Kurt.

After a beat of silence, Blaine rests his forehead in his hands, "I don't think I could live with myself if something bad happened to him." He says quietly.

"What do you mean?" Janet asks.

Blaine looks up and his hands fall to the table, dejectedly.

Janet gently takes Blaine's hands, "Why would you think something bad happened to this boy?"

"I could have done something and I didn't," He replies, his voice shaky. He stands up quickly, really scared now. Hearing himself say these things out loud makes them seem more serious, more real, more possible.

"Blaine, calm down," Janet soothes, "What are you talking about you could have done something?"

"He was sitting at a table and I saw him get a text and look at his phone, and then he started crying so I went to see if he was okay and I saw his phone and there was...there was a nasty text. I think...from a bully. It was awful grams and it was threatening and what if they did something to Kurt? God, I should have done something!" Blaine starts pacing and running his hands through his hair, a habit he had gotten from his father.

Janet steps in front of Blaine and pulls her grandson into a hug, "Sweetie, I'm sure he's okay. None of this is your fault. Do you have his number?"

"No," Blaine whimpers, "He ran out of the library without even a goodbye."

"Well then, there isn't much you can do except keep going to work, and hopefully you will see him again."

"He always goes every weekday for two hours. Maybe I'll see him today?"

Janet smiles comfortingly, "Why don't you get started on your math and I'll clean up breakfast."

Blaine nods, "Thanks gram."

Janet kisses Blaine's head, "I love you sweetie. I'm sure Kurt is okay."

That evening, Blaine is extra anxious. He barely takes his eyes off the library doors and when it's 3:35 and there's still no sign of Kurt, his heart begins to pound faster. _Why isn't Kurt at the library? He's never missed a day and now all of a sudden he's missed two in a row!_

Just then, the doors open and in walks the boy he's been so worried about.

* * *

Kurt's weekend is really boring. The football game with his dad is painful, as always, and his Sunday is uneventful. He helps his dad in the shop all day and then they get burgers and watch some stupid action movie that Kurt keeps his eyes closed for most of.

Monday morning is like any other school day. He's thrown in the dumpster before the first period bell even rings, and then pushed into a locker twice on his way to class. Like always, by the time last period rolls around, he's mentally and physically exhausted and he can't wait to get away.

He pulls into the library parking lot and takes a couple of deep breaths, remembering what had happened on Thursday._ Would he see Blaine again? Does the boy come here often? _ Half of Kurt wants nothing to do with Blaine, but the other half wants to see him again. He has no idea what he'll say to him if he does, but for some reason, he wants to see those hazel eyes again and hear his name come from those perfect lips. Okay, so maybe he thinks Blaine is handsome, but what does it matter? Blaine is just another straight boy who will be disgusted when he finds out about Kurt. Not to mention the fact that he was completely rude to Blaine on Thursday and Kurt can't blame the boy if he never wants to talk to him again. And besides, why would Blaine be at the library again? He was just there four days ago.

With that, Kurt slams his car door shut and makes his way through the glass doors.

* * *

Blaine's first thought is to run over and hug Kurt tightly and never let go, but then he thinks better of it. They hadn't left things at a good place on Thursday and he doesn't want to freak Kurt out. He decides to let the boy settle into his usual table before going over to talk to him.

Now that Kurt's here, Blaine is nervous. Kurt hadn't responded well to the first time Blaine tried to talk to him. He anxiously finishes putting away the files he's sorting in the office before quickly walking between the shelves of books until he arrives at Kurt's table.

Kurt has just sat down and he's pulling out his AP Calc homework, when he hears a throat clear behind him. He whips around and his breath catches in his throat, "Blaine," he says, surprised.

"Hi," Blaine says a little awkwardly, "You remember my name."

Kurt's cheeks tinge pink, "What are you doing here?" He asks carefully. He'd convinced himself that he wouldn't see Blaine today and this is certainly a surprise.

"I um...I work here," Blaine replies, scratching the back of his neck.

"You...oh," Kurt says, surprised. This he was not expecting. _How long has Blaine been working here and how did I not see him before? Probably because I usually come in here with my head down and sit at this exact table everyday. _

"Yeah." Blaine says awkwardly.

There's a silence and then Blaine blurts out, "I'm glad you're okay,"

Kurt furrows his eyebrows, "What? Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Blaine licks his lips, "Well I just...you weren't here on Friday and I thought...never mind."

"You were worried about me because I wasn't here on Friday?"

"I just...you're always here on Fridays and then you weren't last Friday and then the text and...they didn't hurt you did they?" Blaine honestly has never been this nervous in his life.

Kurt stares at Blaine for a moment, "You know that I come here on Friday?"

"Well I...yeah. I mean, I work here so I see you here."

"Oh," Is all Kurt says. What else can he say?

Blaine shuffles his feet, wondering what he should do next. He want's to keep talking to Kurt, but he doesn't want to make the boy uncomfortable. Finally, he points to the chair across from Kurt, "Do you mind?"

"Um yeah- no! I mean yeah, go ahead, I don't mind," Kurt exhales, watching as Blaine carefully takes a seat in front of him.

"You can tell me to leave if you want," Blaine says softly, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable."

"No, no," Kurt cuts in quickly, "You can...you can stay."

They're quiet for a minute before Kurt whispers, "I'm sorry."

Blaine is a little startled at those words, "Why are you sorry? You didn't do anything."

Kurt gulps, "Yes I did. I was rude to you after you were just trying to help me. I didn't mean to be rude, I just..." He trails off.

Blaine waits expectantly.

"I just don't really let people in very easily. I don't trust very many people." Kurt says, staring at an ugly stain in the faux wood table.

Blaine nods before saying quietly, "You can trust me."

Kurt looks up at Blaine and is immediately caught in an intense gaze.

"I know what you're going through Kurt, at least with the bullying. I was...I too was bullied. Not anymore, because I'm homeschooled and I'm not on any social media, but it was pretty bad."

At this, Kurt is suddenly intrigued. _Who is this boy? Could he possibly know what I'm going through?_

"How did you get through it?" Kurt asks.

"I put up with it all through middle school, but when freshman year rolled around, I couldn't take it. The bullies were bigger, and meaner and took everything to a whole new level, a level I couldn't handle. I um...I had problems at home, so I moved in with my grandmother and she's been homeschooling me since. I ran Kurt, that's how I got through it." By the end of his small speech, Kurt has a tear running down his cheek, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry," Blaine says quickly.

"No, no, I'm just really emotional. It's fine." Kurt sniffles and wipes at his eyes, "Can I- can I ask you a really personal question?"

Blaine nods

"Why were you bullied so much?"

"I'm gay," Blaine replies without hesitating.

Kurt feels his breath stutter and immediately begins crying harder.

Blaine stands up from his chair quickly and makes his way over to Kurt, kneeling on the ground next to him, "No, don't cry. I'm sorry I...Shhh. Please don't cry."

Kurt can't help it. He's never had anyone who understands, and now Blaine's here and he's so sincere and seems like he wants to help Kurt and it's all too much.

Blaine timidly places his hand on Kurt's back and rubs in soothing motions, trying to calm the boy down.

"I'm so sorry," Kurt gasps out, "I just...I've never had anyone who understands me like you do and-" Kurt gulps, his body shaking.

"It's okay Kurt, don't be sorry," Blaine continues rubbing small circles on Kurt's back until the boy calms down to just sniffles.

Once Kurt seems to have relaxed, Blaine returns to his seat, "Is it safe to assume you're gay too then?" He asks gently.

Kurt nods, pulling a kleenex out of his bag and wiping his nose before he whips his head up, a look of terror on his face, "But nobody knows! You can't tell anyone! You have to promi-"

"I would never tell anyone. It's okay," Blaine cuts in, knowing the feeling all too well of not having control of when and to whom he comes out to.

Kurt breathes a sigh of relief, "I um...I never came out at school, but the bullies still call me...yeah."

"They did that to me too. Maybe it's because I always wear bow ties," Blaine half jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

Kurt laughs, barely, and Blaine smiles. That's the first time he's heard Kurt laugh and he loves the sound.

It's silent again before Kurt speaks up, "So, aren't you supposed to be working?"

Blaine smiles, "Yes. But I'm just supposed to be shelving books and Mrs. Lovell doesn't mind if I take breaks sometimes. I should probably get back though."

Kurt nods, a little disappointed.

"I'm right over here though," Blaine adds, pointing to a cart toppled high with encyclopedias a couple of shelves down, "We can talk while I work if you like,"

Blaine's face looks so hopeful and Kurt does really like talking to Blaine, "Okay. Just let me do this homework quick. It should only take ten minutes."

Blaine grins and returns to shelving books, sneaking glances at Kurt when he can.

True to his word, Kurt joins Blaine ten minutes later. At first, he almost doesn't because Blaine looks like he's working hard and Kurt doesn't want to distract him. Maybe Blaine was just being nice by offering to converse with Kurt. But then he remembers how hopeful Blaine had looked and he realizes that Blaine probably meant it.

"Hey," He says, coming up behind the curly-haired boy.

Blaine turns around and grins, "Hey there."

Kurt smiles back, "Do you only shelve books, or do you get to do other things?"

"I do a lot of book shelving, but it doesn't bother me. I love it. Books are my everything. I don't know If I could live without them."

"So you read a lot?" Kurt asks, watching as Blaine glances at the tag on each book before searching on the shelf for where it fits.

"All the time. My grandmother gets worried if I spend more than a half hour away from reading."

Kurt chuckles, "So you must be really smart then," He says before blushing, realizing that he's kind of flirting.

Blaine laughs, "I don't know, I just like to read anything and everything."

"I feel kind of bad just standing here and watching you do all the work. Can I help or something?" Kurt asks eyeing the cart of books.

Blaine stops shelving for a minute to look at Kurt, suddenly having an idea, "Wait, since you come here everyday, you should be a library volunteer! We can work together and you can earn volunteer hours, which looks really good on resumes," Blaine hopes he isn't moving too fast for their friendship. If he can even call it that yet.

Kurt claps his hands and jumps. Blaine grins. Excitement looks good on Kurt.

"Yes! When can I start? I never even thought of volunteering here!" Kurt's eyes are glittering.

"We can talk to Mrs. Lovell now. Come here," Blaine motions for Kurt to follow him. They hurry through the shelves and into an office where they find Mrs. Lovell, typing away at her computer.

"Excuse me," Blaine says politely, glancing at Kurt excitedly.

Mrs. Lovell spins her chair around and smiles when she sees Blaine, "Blaine, how can I help you?"

"My friend Kurt here is wondering if he can volunteer at the library. I know that we take volunteers, but I don't know how to get one started."

Kurt's heart swells when Blaine calls him his friend.

"Why thank you Kurt, we would love to have you volunteer here. My name is Mrs. Lovell, I'm the head librarian here and all you have to do is fill out this form and you're set," She says, opening a file cabinet and pulling out a sheet of paper, "When would you like to start?"

Kurt glances at Blaine before turning back to the woman, "Right now?" He asks, unsure if that's okay.

"Of course you can! We always need more volunteers. Blaine can show you what you're going to do. We mostly have volunteers sharpen pencils, shelve books, clean windows, things of that sort. If there is something you don't want to do, let Blaine or I know and there is always something else needing to be done." Mrs. Lovell smiles warmly and Kurt thanks her, shaking her hand.

He and Blaine leave the office and Kurt takes a seat at the nearest table to fill out the form asking for his general information and the hours he wishes to volunteer.

"Do you work here everyday?" He asks Blaine, wanting to make sure the boy will be here when he volunteers.

"Monday through Friday, 3:00-6:00. I never work on weekends," Blaine replies

"I have to be home around 5:30, so I can volunteer from 3:15 until 5:15," Kurt says, filling out the last question.

"Sounds good," Blaine says, taking the paper from Kurt's outstretched hand and hurrying into the office to hand it to Mrs. Lovell before motioning for Kurt to follow him back to where he'd been stacking books.

"So, do you know how the system works?"

Kurt nods, "I've been coming here since...almost my whole life."

"Awesome. You can get right to it then," He hands Kurt a stack of books, which Kurt takes gratefully and begins shelving.

"You do want to volunteer Right? I sort of got ahead of myself. I mean, you didn't even get to think about it, or-"

"Blaine, don't worry. You aren't making me do anything. I truly want to. And maybe selfishly so I can talk to you more…"

Blaine grins, "Okay, I just want to make sure."

There are a few moments of silence before Blaine asks the question that has bothered him since the first week Kurt came to the library, "Why do you come here every day at the same time and leave at the same time?"

Kurt stops shelving and turns to look at Blaine. I _can tell him right? Will he judge me?_

Blaine notices Kurt's hesitance, "You don't have to answer. I'm just curious."

"No I…I think I trust you." Kurt says quietly. Knowing that Blaine was bullied and was once in a similar place as Kurt makes it easier for him to trust the boy.

Those words startle Blaine and he stops shelving as well. Kurt had said before that he isn't the kind of person who gives people his trust easily.

Kurt takes a deep breath, "My dad thinks I'm at football practice."

"He does?" Blaine asks stupidly.

Kurt nods, "He really wants his son to be on the team and I couldn't say no. He would be so disappointed. I'm his only son."

"But won't he find out at the games?" Blaine asks.

"He started working on Friday nights. That's why I wasn't at the library on Friday. He was at work so I had the house to myself."

"Oh," Blaine says, "Your dad, he isn't so accepting gay people?"

Kurt gulps, "He's never outright said it, but now and then he'll catch me doing something like putting on lotion, or admiring a more fashion forward jacket in a store window and I can tell he disapproves. He wants me to be like some macho-man or something. You know, into sports and weight lifting and drinking with the guys. Like he was when he was 17."

"Well what about your mom?"

"She passed away when I was eight," Kurt says. Saying it doesn't affect Kurt as much as it used to. It's just something that's happened. Something terrible, but life must go on. Well, Kurt's life must go on.

"Kurt...I'm sorry," Blaine says sincerely.

"It was a long time ago. I just...I can't help but think that she would've accepted me, no matter what. It's just hard to think about what could've been.

"That's why I live with my Grandmother," Blaine blurts out, "I left my parents' house. They didn't like that I'm gay, so I left." Blaine grimaces, _I ran. Just like I ran from public school. "_I didn't know where to go, so I went to grams house. She took me in instantly and I haven't seen my parents since. I don't even know if they still live in Lima. That was four years ago."

"Blaine. I- I don't know what to say. I can't imagine." Kurt says.. The reality hits so close to home for him. He's worried sick that if his dad finds out about the true Kurt, he'll kick him out. He doesn't have anywhere to go.

Blaine chuckles darkly, "I just try not to think about it. Grams loves me and she is my home now."

"You have so much courage," Kurt whispers, "I wish I could be that strong."

"Kurt, you are so strong," Blaine remarks, "You have so much courage, so much more than I'll ever have. You still live with the bullies everyday and you pretend to be interested in football and god knows what else to make your dad happy. It's really hard to hide your true self. That takes a lot of courage Kurt."

Kurt smiles slightly, "I guess…" He says, still unconvinced. How can lying to his dad because he's afraid be strong and courageous? And isn't being yourself no matter what people think of you the brave thing to do? _Blaine's just trying to make me feel better._

"It's true," Blaine smiles, picking up his book again and shelving it, "I never thought about what my parents wanted before what I wanted."

Kurt suddenly glances at his watch, "I have to go, he says disappointed, "My dad will be suspicious otherwise. Shelving books is a lot of fun though. I can see why you enjoy it so much." Kurt says, even though he knows that it isn't shelving books that's fun, it's the company.

Blaine smiles and sets his stack of books in the cart before following Kurt to the table where the boy's bag is.

"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Blaine asks hopefully.

"Of course," Kurt smiles, pulling his bag over his shoulder and facing Blaine, "Can I maybe...have your number?"

"Yeah, yes," Blaine says instantly, glad that Kurt asked what he himself had been trying to find the courage to ask. He instantly inserts his number into Kurt's phone.

Kurt smiles, "Bye Blaine," He says before walking away.

Blaine stands there for a minute, wondering what had just happened in the last two hours. He feels his phone vibrate and quickly pulls out his phone.

_Thank you so much for everything Blaine. _

Blaine smiles and immediately puts Kurt's number in his contacts.

* * *

Kurt smiles the whole way home, something that is completely foreign to him. He's just so happy. Blaine makes him feel so happy. He finally has a friend who he can be himself around. He doesn't have to hide or pretend around Blaine. He can say or do whatever and not have to worry about it being "too gay," or whatever. He can talk to Blaine about being bullied and feeling alone because the other boy understands. This is what Kurt has wanted his whole life, just an honest friend.

He walks into his house whistling, in his own little world, but startles when he hears throat clear, "Dad! You scared me."

Burt chuckles, "Why are you in such a good mood tonight? Good practice?"

"Yeah," Kurt lies, like always.

Burt smiles and goes back to watching TV.

"What are we doing for dinner? I can make something if you like." Kurt says, his good mood giving him an extra jump in his step.

"Sounds good."

Kurt gets to work right away, pulling out ingredients to make chicken casserole. He's in such a good mood, that he ends up making Broccoli cashew salad, Tarragon chicken casserole, pineapple-orange fruit salad, artichoke dip, a Peruvian Chicha Morada drink, and molasses cookies.

When his dad comes to the table to eat the first thing he says is, "Jeez kid, you made a feast."

Kurt only smiles, "I just felt like it."

Burt grunts and digs in.

They eat in silence for the most part, but Kurt doesn't mind. He takes this time to think back on his time with Blaine. He can't wait until after school tomorrow.

* * *

After Kurt leaves the library, Blaine can't stop smiling. He dances his way to where he has to put the books away. He hums under his breath. He's so happy. he has a friend. He hasn't had a friend in so long. He's tried to make friends before, but it's really hard because most people his age already have their friends and don't care about making more. But now, Blaine has a friend. Someone he can talk to about things, someone he can laugh with that Is under the age of 40. Maybe he can finally have a sleepover. He's never had one before. He had friends in elementary school, but his parents never let him have sleepovers. He and Kurt can stay up late, munching on popcorn and watching musicals. Talking about celebrity crushes and giggling over funny YouTube videos. Maybe it's childish, but he never got to do any of those things and he's always wanted to.

"Grams! I'm home," Blaine calls out, opening the fridge to start making dinner. He usually makes dinner. It's something he likes to do as a thank you to his grandmother.

"Hi dear," Janet walks into the kitchen, giving Blaine a kiss on the head, "My, you look cheerful. Does this have anything to do with Kurt?"

Blaine grins, "He was there today and we talked. He opened up to me and we exchanged numbers."

Janet grins, "I'm glad you're making a friend."

"He started volunteering at the library today. We were talking while I was working and he said he didn't like just standing there and watching me do all the work so I suggested that he become a volunteer and he loved the idea."

"That's great Blaine. You'll have a friend at the library now."

Blaine grins and starts throwing things in a pot on the stove to make soup.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm just a very unpredictable updater, what can I say? As long as I update about once a week, I hope you guys don't mind. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who have reviewed and been so kind to me. I definitely never expected this kind of response. You guys are the only people who've read this story besides me, so I don't have anyone else's opinion. Every time I read a review, it makes me more and more excited to continue this story for you. Anyway, I'll let you guys get to the stuff you've come here for.**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

The next morning, Kurt gets up extra early so he can find a suitable outfit to wear today. He wants to look good. With a newfound jump in his step, he puts together the perfect ensemble. He decides not to put it on right away, one: because it will most likely end up stained with garbage or ripped, and two: because it consists of very tight navy blue skinny jeans with a white leather stripe down the sides of the legs, a pale blue long-sleeved Henley, and a gray leather jacket. For shoes, he digs to the bottom of his closet and pulls out a pair of white Doc Martins. He's been saving these for the perfect occasion. His outfit is definitely more fashion forward than he usually dresses. He'd seen it in the mall and just couldn't pass it up.

He makes sure to pack a bottle of hairspray so he can fix his hair later before he sees Blaine. Then, he packs a container of left over molasses cookies, that hopefully Blaine will like, and leaves his house.

School is the same as usual. He ruins two shirts; one from a lunch slushy, and the other is a blood stain from an extra hard locker shove. After school, he quickly changes in the bathroom stall and hurries to his car, fixing his hair in the mirror. Without wasting anymore time, he exits the parking lot and makes his way over to the public library, and to Blaine.

When he enters the library, he doesn't see Blaine right away so he peeks his head into the office, "Hello Kurt," Mrs. Lovell greets him from her desk, "You can sign in on that sheet over there, and I think Blaine is downstairs working in the children's section. He'll help you with what to do."

Kurt thanks her and after signing in, makes his way downstairs, keeping an eye out for a certain curly-haired boy. He spots him in a far corner by the non-fiction section and smiles when he notices that Blaine's nose is buried in a book.

Kurt sneaks up behind him and pokes him gently in the back, "boo."

Blaine jumps and throws the book he'd been engrossed in halfway across the room. When he sees it's just Kurt, he shakes his head smiling, "That was cruel."

Kurt smirks, "I do believe you're supposed to be working. I'm just teaching you a lesson."

Blaine sticks his tongue out at Kurt and walks over to pick up the book.

"Very mature Blaine," Kurt says, a smile in his voice.

Blaine returns the book he was reading to the shelf, but not before admiring Kurt's choice of outfit. He likes this bolder look on him. A lot.

He hands Kurt a stack of books to shelve, "So, how was school?"

Kurt sighs, "Normal."

Blaine's smile falls at how defeated Kurt sounds, "What is normal Kurt?" He asks gently.

"Getting thrown in the dumpster, giant ice-slushies chucked in my face, my lunch tray dumped on my head, shoves into lockers, name calling, tripping, stuff of that sort."

Blaine's heart falls. _How can Kurt sound so nonchalant; like it's okay?, _"Kurt-"

"It's fine Blaine. There's nothing I can do," Kurt cuts in harshly, before softening, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

"I know." Blaine says softly, handing Kurt another stack of books, "I just wish it didn't have to be this way, I wish I could help you."

"There's nothing else you can do Blaine. You're already doing so much by just being my friend."

"We should hang out," Blaine blurts out suddenly, "Outside of the library. You can come over after the library tomorrow and we can eat dinner at my house and stuff."

Kurt sighs, "I would love to Blaine, but my dad..."

"You can tell him there's a football barbecue at a friend's house or something," Blaine suggests.

Kurt contemplates it for a minute. _That's actually a really good idea. Football teams always have barbecues and team bonding stuff. _"Okay," he replies, suddenly feeling happier.

"I can see if I can get off work forty-five minutes early tomorrow so we can have more time to hang out," Blaine smiles, already planning out the meal he'll cook Kurt.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Kurt suddenly says, "I'll be back!" He takes the stairs two at a time and scurries into the office and over to his bag.

He hurries back downstairs, his hands behind his back, "I made these for you," He thrusts the container of cookies into Blaine's hands, "They're molasses."

Blaine's face lights up and he immediately puts down the book he's holding, opening the container and holding it up to his nose, taking a big sniff, "Mmm, these smell delicious. He picks one up and takes a big bite out of it, moaning when the taste hits his tongue, "You're amazing Kurt."

Kurt blushes.

Blaine reaches into the container again and grabs a cookie, holding it out to Kurt.

Kurt shakes his head, "They're for you."

"Yeah, but I can't eat them alone. Come on."

Blaine looks like a cute puppy and Kurt just can't say no to that look, so he gives in and takes the cookie.

Blaine picks up a second one and smiles, "These are so good Kurt. I didn't know you can bake."

"You don't know a lot of things about me," Kurt says, mentally slapping himself for flirting again. _I can't ruin our friendship by being creepy._

Blaine seems oblivious though, "And you don't know a lot of things about me. For instance, I love playing frisbee, but I never get to because, of course, grams can't. Also, I do yoga often because it's super relaxing."

Kurt smiles at Blaine's random facts and returns to the stack of books waiting to be shelved.

"Tell me something about you," Blaine says, putting the cookie container aside and picking up his next book.

"I love singing." he says simply.

Blaine looks at him a little shocked, "Me too."

Kurt smiles at Blaine, "We should sing sometime. I never get to because my singing voice is really high and my dad...yeah. I only sing by myself in the car."

"I would love to sing with you," Blaine smiles, "What else?"

"My favorite Disney movie is Tangled. It's so cute and me being my emotional self, always cry when the evil men send Flynn away on the boat."

Blaine laughs, "I haven't seen that movie."

"What? You haven't lived! Okay, we are totally having a movie night." Kurt says, shaking his head.

"Friday night? You can come over after school and we can make it a sleepover if you want. You can tell your dad that you're staying over at one of the football players' house." Blaine says, making a mental note to ask to get off work on Friday.

"Sounds like a plan! I'll bring the movie and snacks," Kurt says, his eyes crinkling because his smile is so big. This will be his first sleepover since 5th grade.

They finish shelving in the children's section and then unfortunately, Blaine has to do some office work. He shows Kurt where the pencil sharpener is, apologizing for the boring job, and then leaves to do his work.

Kurt's a little disappointed that he can't talk to Blaine, but he knows that Blaine works here and he's lucky to be able to talk to him at all. Sadly, Blaine has to work in the office the rest of the time, only coming out when Kurt needs something else to do. Blaine feels bad, but Kurt keeps telling him, "It's okay! Really, Blaine. You need to work. I'll be fine."

Blaine decides that from now on he'll try to get the office work done when Kurt isn't volunteering, so he can be with the boy when he is.

When it's time for Kurt to leave, he stops in the office to say goodbye to Blaine and grab his bag. Then he stops in the bathroom on the way out to change into loose jeans and a baggy sweatshirt before he makes his way home.

The back door is attached to the kitchen and when Kurt enters his house, his dad is sitting at the table with a load of paper work in front of him. They exchange greetings and Kurt immediately starts up dinner.

When dinner's made and they're sitting at the kitchen table eating, Kurt decided to ask his dad, "So um...tomorrow night there's a barbecue for the football players, something about team bonding, so I probably won't be home until late."

Burt nods, "Sound's good kid. I'll just order a pizza for myself."

Kurt swallows a bite of Keish, "Also, one of the guys invited me to spend the night on Friday. I'm going to go straight to his house after the game. We'll probably just play video games and stuff."

"That's fine. I'm going to work late anyway on Friday." Burt grunts, setting his plate in the sink before going back to his paper work.

Kurt cleans up the kitchen before retiring to his bedroom to do his homework. He pulls out his phone and leans against the headboard, scrolling through his contacts until he finds Blaine.

_Hello! I hope you've had a lovely evening. I talked to my dad and he completely bought the barbecue with the team and sleepover with a football friend on Friday. _

There's an almost instant reply.

_Awesome! I can't wait:) You aren't allergic to any foods are you?_

Kurt smiles and replies, _No. Although I am allergic to bees._

_Good to know. I was just about to put bee burgers on the menu for tomorrow night. That would have been disastrous;)_

Kurt laughs out loud.

_Indeed it would have. Can I bring anything?_

_Just your wonderful self:) My grandmother can't wait to meet you._

_Should I be worried?_

_No. She'll love you. I have to get to bed now. early morning tomorrow. See you later:)_

_See you tomorrow:) Goodnight Blaine. _

Kurt smiles as he puts his phone on his bedside table and pulls out his homework.

The next morning, Kurt gets up early again and picks out another fashionable outfit to wear to Blaine's. Although it isn't quite as bold, it's definitely a step up from his usual baggy jeans and a T-shirt.

He leaves the house twenty minutes earlier than usual, stopping at the store to pick up a vase of flowers and a frisbee.

* * *

Blaine spends all morning working on dinner. He wants it to be perfect. His grandmother scolds him for not getting his homework done, telling him he will have to work extra hard to make it up, but Blaine doesn't care. The dinner is worth it. He decides on making shrimp Alfredo, Cesar salad, and herb watermelon feta fruit salad. He also makes white chocolate raspberry cheesecake for dessert.

When he arrives at work that afternoon, he gets all of his office work done first so he can spend the rest of the time with Kurt.

When Kurt arrives, Blaine's washing the window frames outside. Kurt hurries inside to put his bag in the office and check in before joining Blaine. The job is dirty and Kurt squeals, more than once, when his hand brushes against spider webs.

"The amount of bird poop on these window frames is enough to fertilize every garden in this entire country," Kurt grumbles.

Blaine laughs out loud, "I'm sorry. It isn't the most glamorous job is it?"

Kurt shakes his head, sighing at a particularly stubborn spot.

They're almost done with the outside window frames when Kurt feels something wet hit his face. He squeals and looks at Blaine incredulously, "You didn't." He says slowly, wiping away the sudsy drops with the back of his hand.

Blaine just smiles innocently and continues washing the windows. Kurt grabs his wash cloth and submerges it until it's sopping wet, pulling it out and pretending to clean the window frames. As soon as he gets close enough to Blaine though, he lifts the cloth above the boy's head and squeezes.

Blaine shrieks and runs away, shaking his head like a dog and wiping water out of his eyes.

Kurt laughs and goes back to cleaning the windows, thinking their silly game is over.

Blaine has other ideas though. He waits until Kurt's least expecting before cupping his hands in the bucket splashing Kurt.

"Blaine!" Kurt squeals, grabbing his bucket and doing the same. Soon enough, they're both completely drenched in soapy water and the buckets are empty.

Both boys are laughing so hard they can barely breathe and Kurt is doubled over, hanging onto Blaine's arm.

"Ahem." A throat is cleared behind them and they both immediately stop laughing and turn around.

Mrs. Lovell is standing in the doorway, hand on hip and eyebrow raised. She has a smirk on her face, "Looks like you boys are cleaner than the window frames."

"We are so sorry Mrs. Lovell. I have no idea what got into us," Blaine apologizes, Righting the buckets and plunking the rags into them.

Mrs. Lovell just laughs, "It's okay Blaine. I'm glad to see you're having fun. You won't be able to come back in the library drenched like that though. Why don't you both go home early today. I'll grab your bags," With that, she's scurrying back inside.

As soon as the door closes behind her, both boys erupt with laughter again.

"Oh my god Blaine, I can't believe what we just did!"

"Me neither! I'm never anything less than composed in public. And at my own workplace! What will people think of me now?" Blaine asks, still laughing lightly.

"They'll think you know how to have fun," Kurt states simply, gently wringing out his shirt.

Mrs. Lovell comes out with both Kurt and Blaine's bags in her hands and she passes them over, "Have a nice evening you two, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Thanks Mrs. Lovell. Sorry about this." Blaine says sincerely.

"It won't happen again. We promise," Kurt adds.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Everyone needs a little fun now and then," Mrs. Lovell says kindly before heading back in the library.

The boys start walking towards their respective cars, "I'll follow you," Kurt says, opening his car door, "How far away do you live?"

"Ten minutes or so. It's not far," Blaine replies, hopping into his own car.

The drive there is wet and uncomfortable. Of course this happens the one time Kurt doesn't bring an extra pair of clothes. But honestly, Kurt doesn't mind. He's going to spend the evening with Blaine, and not even his wet attire is going to ruin it. Although he does hope he can borrow some of Blaine's clothes until his dry. He doesn't want to sit in a soggy mess the entire evening.

Blaine pulls into the driveway of a quint, little home. The lawn is well-groomed and there's a beautiful flower garden next to the front door. Although the house is small, the yard makes up for it. There are two towering oaks in the front yard and Kurt's sure the back yard must be even bigger.

Blaine exits the garage, squinting his eyes in the sunlight and Kurt parks behind him in the driveway. He gets out of his car before leaning down to stuff the frisbee in his bag and grab the vase of flowers, which have fared pretty well considering they've been in the car the entire day.

"Are those for me?" Blaine asks, pointing at the bouquet in Kurt's hands.

"You wish," Kurt smirks, following Blaine inside.

They stand on a mat just inside the front door and take off their dripping socks and shoes.

"Why don't you follow me and we can change into something dry. I can put your clothes in the dryer so you can wear them home." Blaine says, motioning for Kurt to follow him.

"That would be great. My skin is starting to prune," Kurt pouts.

Blaine laughs, leading the way upstairs.

"Blaine is that you?" Kurt hears a woman's voice call from the living room.

"Yeah grams! Kurt and I will be down in a sec."

Blaine opens the door to a navy blue room with beige accents. Kurt smiles as he looks around. The color palate and the way everything is so neat and tidy is just so _Blaine. "_I really like your room. It's nice."

Blaine grins, "Thank you. Okay, so I should have…" Blaine trails off as he digs through his dresser, "Aha! Here," He pulls out a pair of maroon colored jeans, "Will these be okay? I know I'm shorter than you, but these are pants that I got from my aunt years ago. Apparently she thinks I'm tall," Blaine pouts.

Kurt smiles, "I like that you're short. It suits you."

Blaine blushes and hands Kurt a dry shirt, "You can use the bathroom. It's just down the hall and to the left."

Kurt nods. He sets the flowers on Blaine's desk and makes his way out the door. He's just closed the bathroom door, when he realizes that his underwear are drenched as well. _Well, this is awkward. I can't put dry pants over wet underwear; it will show through._ Kurt sighs and opens the door, making his way back to Blaine's room.

"Blaine?" Kurt knocks gently.

"Yeah?" Kurt hears the sounds of rustling fabric.

"Um...this is a little embarrassing, but I-"

The door flies open and Blaine stands there in dry clothes, looking at him expectantly.

Kurt pulls at his wet shirt sleeve, embarrassed, "I um...I have a bit of a problem."

Blaine tilts his head, "What is it? Do you need a towel? They're i-"

"No, I don't need a towel," Kurt cuts him off, blushing and avoiding Blaine's gaze.

"What's your problem then?"

"It's just…" Kurt trails off, wringing his hands nervously.

"You can just say it Kurt. I'm not going to judge you or anything."

"My underwear are soaked through." Kurt blurts out, blushing.

"Oh." Blaine says stupidly, "Right. Yeah. Of course." Blaine hurries back into his room, returning with a pair of black briefs that look fairly new. Blaine blushes as he hands them over.

Kurt takes them with a quiet thanks and scurries into the bathroom. _That was one of the most awkward situations in my life. _Kurt quickly strips out of his wet clothes, and into Blaine's dry ones, trying not to think about where the briefs have been.

When he arrives back at Blaine's room, a bundle of wet clothes in hand, Blaine's sitting on his bed, humming a tune, his eyes closed.

Kurt clears his throat and Blaine jumps.

"What's that song?" Kurt asks, recognizing the tune.

"Against All Odds," Blaine smiles, "It's one of my favorites to sing."

"We should sing it together then. Maybe after dinner?"

"Sure."

Kurt picks up the vase of flowers, still standing in the entryway, "So ah, should we go say hello to your grandmother?"

"Yeah, let's go. And the dryer is downstairs. We can do that first so we don't have to hang onto these," Blaine holds up his pile of wet clothes.

Kurt nods and they make their way downstairs.

On their way to the laundry room, they run into Janet, "Blaine dear, why are you home so early?"

"Grams, this is my friend Kurt," Blaine touches Kurt's elbow, "Kurt, this is my grandmother, Janet."

"It's lovely to finally meet you Kurt. You have been the center of Blaine's conversations for the past few days."

"Grams," Blaine blushes, looking at his feet.

Kurt just smiles, "It's so nice to meet you as well. Blaine talks very highly of you. Oh, and I got these for you." Kurt hands the vase of flowers to Blaine's grandmother.

"Why Kurt, how lovely," She smells them, "Thank you dear."

Kurt beams and Blaine clears his throat, "We have to go put these in the dryer. Excuse us," Blaine guides Kurt through the house until they arrive at a small room with a washer, dryer, ironing board, and sink.

Kurt hands Blaine his clothes and he stuffs them in the dryer before they make their way to the kitchen where Janet is getting out some glasses, "Kurt, would you like something to drink? Coffee, tea, juice, chocolate milk?"

"Actually, I'll just have some water, thank you." Kurt says, taking a seat at the bar next to Blaine.

Janet nods and fills two glasses with ice, "So, why are you boys home so early? And why do you have bundles of clothes to dry?" she asks, handing Kurt a glass of water and Blaine some cranberry juice.

"We um...we kind of got into a water fight." Blaine says, hiding behind his glass of juice.

Janet laughs, "That's not very like you Blaine. You're usually so dapper and well-mannered."

"I know! It's all Kurt's fault." Blaine pouts, folding his arms.

"My fault?" Kurt says incredulously, "I do recall you splashing me in the face first."

"I did no such thing. Must have been the wind." Blaine declares, taking another sip of his juice.

"There was no wind Blaine. You splashed me. Fess up."

Blaine rolls his eyes, "It doesn't even matter. All that matters is that it was a heck of a lot of fun and we got out of work early."

Janet whops Blaine over the head gently, "Blaine Devon Anderson, I raised you better than that."

Kurt cocks his head in thought _Anderson? Where have I heard that na- oh! The people dad work for have the same last name. How funny. _

Kurt looks at Blaine and laughs when the boy actually looks ashamed.

"It's only 4:15 Kurt, what do you want to do?" Blaine asks, swinging his feet because they don't quite reach the ground.

Kurt grins and stands up, heading over to his bag and pulling out the frisbee.

"Kurt...what? You brought a frisbee?" Blaine jumps up and runs over to where Kurt is standing, "Oh my god, you remembered!"

"Of course I did silly! Let's go play." Kurt opens the door and runs outside barefoot, Blaine close behind him.

They have a blast playing frisbee. Blaine can't remember a time when he's had this much fun. Probably never.

They play for a little over an hour before they're both exhausted and they make their way inside, big grins on their faces.

"We can probably finish making dinner," Blaine suggests, "I made most of it this morning, but I have to finish a few things."

"Sounds good to me," Kurt replies, gulping down a glass of water.

Blaine starts getting out all the food and with every dish he sets on the table, Kurt's eyes get a little wider.

"Blaine! What did you do? This food is so fancy!" Kurt exclaims, eying the dishes, "And there's so much!"

Blaine shrugs, "I love cooking."

"Wow. how long did this take you?"

"The morning," Blaine replies, heating up a white sauce for the Alfredo.

"Wow. Just, wow." Kurt is kind of speechless. Nobody has ever bothered making a meal for him besides his parents. He can't help but feel slightly special. "Can I help with anything?"

"Um...there are plates in that cabinet. You can set the table if you'd like." Blaine replies.

They work together to finish dinner and before they know it, everything is set.

Dinner is a lot of fun. Kurt doesn't remember ever laughing so hard at the dinner table. His dad usually just says a few words about sports or the car shop, asks Kurt how he is and then is silent.

Kurt loves Blaine's grandmother. She's the nicest woman he's ever met. The conversation stays light and Kurt is grateful for the break. He's glad to be able to forget about all of his issues and have a good time.

Kurt and Blaine clean up dinner and wash the dishes, laughing and joking with each other the entire time. Once the kitchen is clean, it's already 7:15.

"How late can you stay?" Blaine asks Kurt as they make their way to Blaine's bedroom.

Kurt shrugs, "Probably 8:45ish. Barbecues wouldn't last longer than that."

Blaine nods and they enter his room. Kurt sits on his bed, "Woah. Your bed is really soft and squishy."

Blaine laughs and sits down on the other end, "It's memory foam."

Kurt falls back and spreads out his arms, wincing, despite the softness, when he feels his fresh cuts and bruises, "If your bed isn't here tomorrow, it's probably be at my house."

"Planning on stealing my bed, Hummel?" Blaine smirks.

Kurt grins mischievously, "Maybe. My bed isn't even half this comfortable."

"Well, you can sleep in my bed on Friday. I'll taken the couch," Blaine says, pointing to a cream-colored couch along the wall.

"Okay. Hey, we should sing," Kurt sits up excitedly.

"Yes! Let's do it," Blaine stands up and turns on his keyboard.

"I didn't know you can play," Kurt says, standing behind Blaine who is pushing buttons on the keyboard to set it up.

"I started lessons when I was 6. It's really the only _good_ thing my parents did for me. What should we sing?"

Kurt shrugs, "You said your favorite song is Against All Odds."

Blaine nods and starts playing the intro, glancing at Kurt to silently tell him to begin.

Kurt catches the hint and begins singing the first line, before Blaine joins in. Their voices sound really good together, with Blaine's a low soothing sound and Kurt's higher and more soft.

The last note rings out and they hear clapping. Blushing, both boys turn around and see Blaine's grandmother leaning against the door frame.

"Boys, that was wonderful! Kurt, your voice is just beautiful," Janet praises.

Kurt blushes deeper and looks down at his feet, "Thank you."

"Sing something else," She says excitedly, sitting on Blaine's bed.

They end up singing four more songs before it's time for Kurt to go. He really doesn't want to, but he has no choice.

He changes back into his clothes before Blaine walks him out to his car.

"That was really fun," Kurt says gently, walking slowly to buy more time.

Blaine hums in agreement, "We should do it again sometime."

Kurt nods, "Dinner was amazing. Thank you," He smiles, opening his car door.

Blaine pushes his hands into his front pockets and scrunches up his shoulders, "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Kurt turns around to face Blaine, "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"See you tomorrow," Blaine confirms.

"Can I," Kurt cuts in quickly, "Can I hug you?"

Blaine answers by stepping forwards and wrapping his arms around Kurt's waist, holding the boy close. Kurt responds by wrapping his own arms around the top of Blaine's shoulders and squeezing.

When they pulled away, Blaine notices that Kurt has a tear rolling down his cheek, "Kurt?"

Kurt lets out a shaky breath, his eyes cast downward, "I'm sorry. I just...haven't been hugged in years and I forgot how comforting they are," Kurt says gently, wiping at his eyes quickly.

Blaine's heart sinks. Everyone needs hugs. He always makes sure to hug his grandmother everyday, if not more.

"I should...I should go," Kurt points weakly at his car, starting to turn around.

But Blaine reaches out and takes Kurt's arm, gently pulling him in for another hug, "I'll just have to make up for all those years of no hugs."

Kurt laughs into Blaine's shoulder.

They pull away and Kurt gets in his car with one last exchange of "goodbye" and

"goodnight" and "see you tomorrow."

Blaine make his way back into the house, a smile playing on his lips. He wanders into the living room, where Janet is crocheting, and falls on the couch, closing his eyes.

"Kurt is very nice," Janet says, smiling.

Blaine's grin widens and he nods.

It's silent for about two minutes before Blaine speaks, "How can people bully him? He's so sweet."

"It's a cruel world out there Blaine. You know that well enough. You've been through a lot as well." Janet replies.

Blaine sighs, "Yeah. Goodnight Grams. I love you." Blaine hugs his grandmother and makes his way upstairs to his room, his thoughts never straying from Kurt. The boy is honestly amazing. he's compassionate and sweet, and has so much courage. He's going through so much, but he still stands strong, not letting anyone break him. And he's doing it all alone too. Blaine is so glad that he's met Kurt. Now the boy doesn't have to be alone anymore.

* * *

**I'd love to hear what you think about this chapter! **

**On another note, have any of you read any good Klaine stories lately? I've just finished reading Roses In December by ckofshadows and I definitely recommend it. Currently, I'm Reading Crowded House by kellyb321 and that one's really good too. Let me know if have a story that you recommend. **


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm sorry that this took longer than a week to upload. School is sucking up so much of my time and by the time I'm finished writing all the paragraphs and essays for my classes, I have no inspiration left in me. But thanks so very much for sticking with this story! I can't promise weekly updates, but I'm doing my best. ****Unfortunately, school needs to come first.**

**There's lots of intimate and emotional Kurt and Blaine action in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. **

* * *

**Chapter 4**

Wednesday and Thursday go very much like Monday. Kurt and Blaine both have school in the morning, and then head to the library in the evening. There's definitely a shift in their relationship though and they both feel it. There's an underlying feeling of closeness and trust. Like they can tell each other anything. They both haven't had it easy, and being able to rely on each other is the best feeling.

On Friday night, Blaine and Kurt are sitting in Blaine's room listening to music and playing Sorry. They'd already chatted with Blaine's grandmother for a while, played frisbee, and eaten dinner. Now they're just relaxing, laughing at silly things and having a good time.

After about half an hour of playing the game, Kurt wins. He's so excited that he shoots his fisted hands into the air and rolls onto his back in victory. He cries out a little when he unexpectedly lands on a wound that had been reopened this morning when Karofsky had shoved him into a pointy metal lock on one of the lockers. He'd had to change his shirt after that one.

Blaine immediately stops pouting from his loss when he hears Kurt's pained whimper and is by Kurt's side in an instant, helping the boy to sit, "Kurt? What happened?" He asks, his eyes trailing down Kurt's body to see if he can find the culprit.

"N-nothing," Kurt cringes, trying not to move his back so the fabric on his shirt won't rub. He can tell that the thin scab has rubbed off.

"Is it your head? What did you do?" Blaine asks, not for one second believing that it's nothing.

"Blaine..." Kurt whimpers, leaning his side against Blaine's body, which causes his shirt to rub against the scab again. He grimaces.

"What is it Kurt? What's the matter?" Blaine asks, getting more worried.

"My back, it r-really h-h-hurts," Kurt utters shakily before he starts softly crying, "And I-I," He gasps for breath, "I don't kn-now w-what to do-o." He feels like he's six again and he's just fallen off his bike and scraped his knee and is crying for his mom to fix it. He hates for Blaine to see him like this, but he's so sick of putting on a brave face for everyone.

"Shhh, Kurt," Blaine pushes a strand of hair away from Kurt's forehead, trying to calm him with the gentle gesture, "What's the matter with your back? Can I see it?"

Kurt hiccups, "Th-the football p-players," He fists his hands in Blaine's shirt, squeezing his eyes shut.

Blaine's heart rate begins to speed up and he suddenly feels angry. He hates them so much right now for what they're doing to Kurt. He wants to leave right now and hunt them down to teach them a lesson. And maybe he would have tried if it wasn't for the crying boy in his arms who needs him.

Kurt's quiet tears start to subside and soon, he's just sniffling. Kurt pulls away and immediately starts apologizing.

Blaine cuts him off, "Kurt, stop it. You haven't done anything worthy of an apology. I want to help you. You don't have to be sorry."

Kurt looks down, embarrassed.

Blaine touches Kurt's arm gently, "Can I see your back?"

"It's-It's really bad Blaine. I don't think you should."

"Kurt, if it's really bad you should go see a doctor."

Kurt's head whips up, "No Blaine! I can't!" Kurt says frantically, "My dad will find out I-"

"Okay, okay," Blaine holds his hands up, "But at least let me see. It might need to be cleaned or something."

Kurt stares at Blaine for a moment before finally nodding. If it is infected, he needs to put antibiotic ointment on asap. Blaine is the only one who knows about the cuts on his back. This is his only option. He turns around so his back is facing Blaine and sits cross-legged.

Blaine slowly lifts Kurt's shirt up so he can see the bottom half of Kurt's back and gasps. It's so much worse than he had thought. Almost Kurt's whole back is purple and yellow and there's dried blood in some places. There are two bigger cuts and multiple small ones. There's also blood trickling out of one of the bigger cuts that looks fresh enough to have happened today.

Blaine stands up and hurries to the bathroom, pulling out a first aid kit. He feels a bit light-headed. He's breathing heavily and the tears he's blinking back are making his throat hurt from the pressure. He forces them back though. Kurt needs him right now.

The more he cleans the wounds, the more he feels the pressure building up behind his eyes. When he's finished with the bottom half of Kurt's back and he lifts the shirt higher to see the top half, he can't hold it in anymore. A loud sob escapes him and he drops Kurt's shirt, putting his face in his hands.

"Blaine," Kurt turns around quickly to find Blaine with his face hidden in his hands, shaking with sobs. Kurt is immediately at his side, rubbing his back. He certainly hadn't expected this.

"Kurt," Blaine says, still crying hard, "How can they do this to you? They're h-h-horrible."

"It's okay Blaine, It's okay." Kurt soothes, still rubbing Blaine's back.

Blaine's face whips up and he stares at Kurt, tears making their way down his face, "No it's not! no it's not! You're perfect Kurt! You're like an angel! How can they hurt an angel?"

Kurt's breath hitches.

Blaine gulps heavily, wiping angrily at his tears, "Why are you saying this is okay? It's not! It's not and it won't ever be!"

"I know Blaine, shhh. I know. This is just the way it is. I'm used to it." Kurt feels his eyes start watering. He's never seen Blaine like this before. So out of control.

"That's stupid Kurt. This whole city is stupid." Blaine spits, his tears starting to subside and anger replacing them.

"I know Blaine, but we'll get out of it someday. We'll go somewhere where we are excepted and can be ourselves freely and we'll do great things with our life and we'll show everyone here that we're worth it and we're bigger than this life."

Blaine sniffles and looks up at Kurt with big eyes, "We will?"

"Of course we will," Kurt smiles, "There's a place for us, Blaine, and we just have to be patient."

Blaine sighs and pulls Kurt in for a hug, "You're so amazing Kurt. How are you so amazing?" He pulls away, whipping his eyes with a tissue.

Kurt laughs to lighten the mood, "I just have faith that we can get through all this. It's only a small milestone and one day, we'll look back and realize that this has shaped us to be as successful as I'm positive we will be. We will both come out of this stronger than ever."

"You really are an angel," Blaine whispers.

"And you Blaine, have a whole, wonderful life ahead of you."

"So do you. Here, I need to finish cleaning your back." Blaine motions for Kurt to turn around.

"No Blaine, it's okay. You really don't have to."

"Yes I do Kurt. The cuts might get infected otherwise." Blaine insists.

Kurt sighs, turning around once again.

Blaine finishes Kurt's back, still sad and angry, but feeling better after Kurt's soothing words.

When he's finished, Kurt thanks him gently and excuses himself to the bathroom.

Blaine lets out a shaky breath and closes his eyes, trying to erase the image of Kurt's back for now so he doesn't have nightmares. It's hard to do though. It brings back memories of when he was in the same situation. Maybe not this bad because he'd fled before it got worse, but he knows what Kurt is going through.

Kurt comes back in, smiling brightly, trying to forget about what had happened for now. He loves that he and Blaine can have serious conversations like that, but at the end of the day, he just wants to be happy.

"What should we do next? Makeovers?" Kurt asks, sitting down on the bed next to Blaine, "I, for one, would love to get ahold of those bushy eyebrows of yours and have my wicked way with them."

Blaine's eyes widen, "What? You didn't say anything about that! I-I-"

Kurt laughs, "I'm just kidding Blaine, relax."

"Whew," Blaine wipes his forehead with the back of his hand dramatically.

Kurt shoves him playfully, rolling his eyes, "Well, we could play another game, watch Tangled, talk, drool over hot celebrities..." Kurt trails off, his eyebrow raised in question.

Blaine waggles his eyebrows, "The last one?"

Kurt laughs and grabs Blaine's laptop. They search the internet for all of their celebrity crushes, laughing and adding comments when appropriate. After a good twenty minutes, they get bored and switch to watching funny gifs and videos. After forty minutes of almost constant laughing, they decide to be done with that and watch Tangled.

Kurt leaps off the bed and claps his hands, "I'm so excited! You're going to love this movie Blaine."

Blaine smiles at how cute Kurt is when he's excited and inserts the DVD into his laptop.

Kurt opens his overnight bag and pulls out a bag of trail mix, some dried fruit, a bag of dark chocolate covered açai berries, and a jar of Nutella.

Blaine raises his eyebrows at the assortment, "Very creative. I was expecting a bag of chips or something."

Kurt scoffs, "Chips are gross. They're greasy and loaded with PHO."

Blaine laughs, "Well, I think your choices are perfect. Although isn't Nutella unhealthy?"

"It's my guilty pleasure," Kurt replies, taking out two spoons from his bag and setting them next to the jar.

"Kurt Hummel has a guilty pleasure?" Blaine asks smirking, "Who would have thought?"

"Everyone has a guilty pleasure Blaine."

"Hmm, touché." Blaine replies, stacking four pillows up against the headboard and pulling back his blankets, patting the bed beside him. Kurt sits down on the bed next to Blaine and leans against the pillows, noticing how his back already feels better.

Blaine places his laptop on a risen tray at their feet before leaning back as well so they're sitting side by side, their feet stretched out in front of them.

"You ready?" Blaine asks, the cursor over the 'play' button.

"definitely," Kurt nods.

The movie begins and Kurt finds himself singing quietly to the songs. He knows every one by heart and can't help it. They're seriously addicting.

They eat snacks, laughing, and of course it isn't a movie with Kurt without the boy's snarky comments. Blaine loves it.

Halfway through the film, Blaine begins getting drowsy. He rests his head on Kurt's shoulder, hoping the other boy doesn't mind.

Kurt is surprised at first, but the feeling of a warm weight on his shoulder brings a smile to his face. He likes being close to Blaine. It makes him feel comfortable and safe.

The movie is almost over when Kurt hears light snoring coming from Blaine. He smiles, shimmying down a little to get comfier. Blaine shifts until he's lying down as well with his head resting on top of Kurt's shoulder and his palm lying face down over Kurt's chest.

Kurt is startled at the position at first, but then he remembers that Blaine's asleep and obviously thinks Kurt's just a pillow. We'll, he isn't about to wake the boy up. That would just be cruel.

Kurt sighs with content and burrows deeper into the memory foam. He's definitely stealing this bed.

The movie ends and Kurt maneuvers the tray with his feet until he can reach it and the laptop and he places both on Blaine's bedside table.

He's about to wake Blaine up to tell him they should get ready for bed, but Blaine makes a cute little sleepy sound and burrows deeper into Kurt's side, and Kurt doesn't have the heart to wake him.

Instead, he switches off the bedside lamp and closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth that Blaine's body provides.

* * *

Blaine wakes up sometime in the middle of the night. He barely opens his eyes, hoping to immediately fall back asleep. He nuzzles his face into his pillow, making a contented sigh, before he realizes _this_ is not a pillow. This is a human. He leaps out of the bed with a surprised grunt, causing the body to stir. Blaine grabs his phone and shines it across the room, lighting up the person's face, "Kurt..." He sighs before climbing back on his bed, "You scared me. I woke up and there was someone in my bed and…jeez…"

Kurt yawns, not awake enough to really think straight, "Yeah, sorry. You fell asleep on my shoulder and I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"I'm sorry," Blaine apologizes, turning off his phone and returning it to the bedside table.

"No, don't apologize. You're actually quite comfortable and warm," Kurt rests his arm over his face, covering his eyes, "Between you and this bed, I feel like I'm sleeping on a cloud that is floating in heaven."

Blaine laughs and flops onto his back, leaving a foot or so between him and Kurt, "I could say the same about you. I honestly thought you were a big, fluffy pillow."

Kurt smacks Blaine's shoulder gently, "Is that a fat joke?"

"Of course not! You are perfectly in shape. Not a bit of fat anywhere to be seen." Blaine says, pulling the covers around him and resting his hands on his chest.

"You're such a dork," Kurt laughs softly, yawning, "What time is it?"

"Hmmm," Blaine hums, opening his eyes to check his phone, "2:10. It's still the middle of the night. Maybe we should sleep."

Kurt pouts in the dark, "But then I won't get to spend as much time with you."

"I'll be right here the entire time," Blaine says, shrugging and snuggling deeper under the covers.

"You know what I mean, Blaine," Kurt rolls his eyes, "I want to spent time with you when we're both conscious. That's the whole point of this sleepover."

"Well in that case," Blaine leaps out of bed, taking the covers with him, "I'm hungry. Let's go raid the freezer for ice cream."

Kurt sits up giggling, "Can we at least change into pajamas first? These jeans are feeling incredibly stiff."

Blaine switches on his light, groaning and squinting his eyes in the blinding bright.

Kurt heads to the bathroom while peaking between his fingers, mumbling for Blaine to use the dimmer next time.

When he gets back to Blaine's room, Blaine is already in his Harry Potter pajama pants and a T-shirt with periodic table printed on it.

Kurt has on a set of silk pajamas that are white with gray pinstripes. He's never worn them, but when Blaine asked him to sleepover, he'd taken emergency trip to the mall.

"Nice pajamas," Blaine comments, "I didn't know people still wore matching top and bottoms."

Kurt blushes, "It's fashion Blaine."

"Of course." Blaine smiles, motioning for Kurt to follow him.

Because the hallway is dark and they don't want to wake Blaine's grandmother by running into a wall or falling down the stairs, Blaine uses his phone as a light. When they arrive at the steps, Blaine reaches back and takes a hold of Kurt's hand.

Kurt blushes, but doesn't let go.

Blaine guides the boy downstairs through the dark with just his dim flashlight, letting go when they make it to the bottom. He flips on the kitchen light and opens the freezer, pulling out a tub of mint chocolate chip ice cream. His mouth waters and he grins at Kurt.

"Ooo, my favorite!" Kurt gets down two bowls, but Blaine stops him, putting them back in the cupboard, "Blaine? Why did you do that? Don't we need those?" Kurt asks, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

Blaine just smiles and takes two spoons out of the silverware drawer, grabbing Kurt's hand again and leading him upstairs, this time in the dark since Blaine doesn't have enough hands to hold up his phone.

When they enter Blaine's room, Blaine let's go of Kurt's hand and closes the door before running and leaping onto his bed, the ice cream landing in the center.

Kurt giggles, following Blaine onto the bed and taking one of the spoons Blaine hands him.

"Bowls are overrated," Blaine states, finally answering Kurt's question, "And it tastes better this way." He opens the lid to the container of mint ice cream and dives in.

They eat the ice cream, giggling and joking around. If it had been with anyone else, Kurt never would have eaten anything that someone else's slobber was touching, but this is Blaine.

When there's only one spoonful left, Blaine and Kurt both dove their spoons in, each trying to get the last bite. Blaine's spoon reaches the ice-cream first and he scoops it up.

Kurt pouts and folds his arms childishly.

But instead of devouring it himself, Blaine takes his spoon and brings it up to Kurt's lips.

Kurt, surprised, opens his mouth and lets Blaine feed him the last spoonful of ice cream.

Blaine laughs, relieving the awkward tension that had settled around them, and throws the empty container in the trash, rubbing his hands together to warm them up, "Now what? That definitely woke me up."

Kurt swallows and licks the side of his finger where he had spilled, "We can go for a late night stroll," He suggests, "It might be a little chilly, but it'll still be fun."

"Why not," Blaine grins, getting off his bed and pulling on a sweatshirt, "Why did we change into our pajamas if we're going outside?"

Kurt climbs off the bed as well, "I wasn't planning this. Why does it matter? It'll be fun!"

"Yeah, It's not like anyone will be out there at this hour. We should leave a note for grams, just in case she wakes up and finds the house empty."

Blaine rips out a page from his Calculus notebook and scribbles a quick note before placing it on his bed. Both boys each pull on a pair of socks and make their way downstairs.

They start walking around the block, talking and laughing. Half way around, Kurt shivers and pulls his jacket closer against his neck, "Okay...that's cold." The wind had picked up and It's starting to feel a bit spooky.

Blaine moves closer to Kurt, wrapping an arm around Kurt's shoulders and rubbing the boy's arms, "Nothing warmer than body heat."

Kurt smiles and blushes lightly, leaning into Blaine's body, "You're a really great friend Blaine. I'm so glad I met you, even if it wasn't under the best circumstances."

Blaine smiles warmly, "You too. You're the only real friend I've ever had. I mean, there were some kids in elementary and middle-school, but not like this."

Hearing Blaine say this makes Kurt's heart swell, "So um...what are your plans? For the future I mean."

"Future as in tomorrow? Or in forty years?"

Kurt shrugs, "Maybe like…what are your plans for post-highschool?"

Blaine lets out a slow breath, "I don't know. I mean, I've thought about it and I want to go to college, but I don't know what to do there. I love books. I wan't to do something that involves books, but I just don't know what."

"You're really smart Blaine. You can get into any college you want to. You can do anything you want to." Kurt says softly before adding, "Unless you want to be a model. 5''4' won't get you very far in that industry.

Blaine laughs, nudging Kurt's arm playfully.

"No, but in all seriousness Blaine, you really are truly a good guy. You are so willing to learn and that mindset can get you anywhere you want to go."

Despite the chilly wind, Blaine's body swells with warmth, "Thanks Kurt, that really means a lot coming from you. I just don't even know where to begin. It's all so overwhelming. There are too many choices. How do I make up my mind?"

"Well for one thing, you don't have to make up your mind right now. But just think about what you love to do. You love books, so what can you do that involves books? Make a list and then narrow it down. And since college is something you're considering, you can visit campuses and talk to people who can guide you in the right direction."

Blaine nods, "That's actually really smart. I never thought of that," Blaine decides that tomorrow, he'll make a list of colleges that sound interesting to visit.

"What about you? What is your passion?"

Kurt glances at Blaine, "I've never told anyone this before."

Blaine nods his head, waiting.

Kurt takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly, "I want to be an architect. I have a whole sketchbook filled with designs and layouts hidden under my bed and I just really, really want to do that for a living. I'm hoping to get into Cornell University in New York. They have a great architecture program."

"Wow. That's amazing Kurt," Blaine says, "I never would have guessed. But why do you hide it?"

Kurt shrugs, "I don't know. I think I've just gotten into the habit of hiding myself from my dad and everyone around me that I just...I just hide everything now."

Blaine nods understandingly, "Will you show me your sketchbook sometime?"

"Maybe," Kurt smirks, "If you're a good boy."

"When am I ever _not _a good boy?" Blaine asks playfully.

"Hmm...maybe that time when you drenched me with filthy water." Kurt says lightly.

"Oh come on Kurt...that was forever ago!" Blaine whines

"Or three days ago," Kurt shoots back.

"I don't see the point in bringing it up. It just makes us quarrel." Blaine states matter of factly.

"All I'm asking for is an apology."

Blaine sighs dramatically, "Fine! If this is what it takes for you to drop it and move on, I'm deeply sorry Kurt for splashing a couple drops of water on your face. Will you forgive me?"

"It was more than a couple drops, but yes, I forgive you."

"Good. Now lets never bring it up again, deal?"

Kurt hums, "Deal." They shake hands to seal it.

"So what are you doing tomorrow?" Blaine asks as they round the corner onto Blaine's street.

"I don't think we can hang out. My dad is going to start getting suspicious." Kurt replies sadly.

Blaine sighs, "He's going to be home all day?"

"Sometimes he works at the shop on Saturdays. Usually from after lunch until 5ish."

"Can we do something then? If he does, I mean."

"I really want to, but I can't be sure he'll be gone. I can text you tomorrow though."

"Okay," Blaine smiles, hopeful. They arrive at Blaine's house and quietly sneak in, scurrying to Blaine's room.

Kurt takes off his jacket and Blaine his sweater before they both crawl onto Blaine's bed.

"What now?" Blaine asks, taking off his socks.

"We could watch another movie until we fall asleep," Kurt suggests, pulling off his own socks and burying under the covers so he's half lying, half sitting, "If we're going to hang out tomorrow we should at least get a few hours of sleep. It's already 4:10."

Blaine slides off his bed and walks over to his movie collection, "500 Days of Summer, Notting Hill, Spider Man, Aladdin, The Proposa-"

"Ooooo let's watch The Proposal!" Kurt claps excitedly, "That movie never fails to make me laugh."

Blaine pops it in and hurries under the warm covers next to Kurt, imitating the other boy's position. Blaine presses play, turns out the lights, and grabs the jar of Nutella and a spoon.

He takes a sizable spoonful of the hazelnut cream out of the jar and licks it off the spoon.

"You gonna share?" Kurt asks, an eyebrow raised.

Blaine laughs, putting the spoon in the jar and pulling it out again, this time holding the spoon out in front of Kurt's mouth.

Kurt opens wide and allows Blaine to stick the spoon in his mouth. He sucks off all the Nutella before pulling away, "What is it with you and feeding me? Is it some kind of weird fetish I should know about?"

Blaine shrugs, "I don't know. It's fun."

"You're weird."

Blaine eats another spoonful of Nutella and then feeds Kurt some more. He does that until they've had enough, and then snuggles deeper under the covers.

Kurt follows suit until they're both lying completely on their backs, a couple of inches between them, watching the movie.

Kurt's right; the movie makes both of them laugh and it's the perfect choice.

Halfway through, their arms brush against each other and Blaine turns to Kurt, "Can I cuddle you?" he blurts out.

Kurt looks at him with a weird expression.

"Okay, that sounded weird," Blaine apologizes, "I just meant that I love cuddling, but I don't have anyone to cuddle with and I really miss it. It feels so nice to have someone right there next to me. It makes me feel like I matter or something. And I just thought that, well, you said you like the feeling of being hugged, and cuddling is kind of like hugging so maybe you wouldn't mind."

Silence.

"I'm sorry," Blaine apologizes when Kurt doesn't say anything, "I shouldn't- that was weird. Pretend I never opened my mouth."

"Um no," Kurt finally says, "We can cuddle. It's just...I've never cuddled before. Well, maybe forever ago with my mom, but...I don't really know...how."

"There isn't really any right or wrong way to do it Kurt, you just...do what's comfortable." Blaine scoots closer to Kurt and pulls the boy in, wrapping his arms around him a little awkwardly. Kurt hesitantly drapes his arm over Blaine's torso and rests his head on the boy's shoulder.

It's a little awkward for Kurt at first because he's never cuddled before, but after a few minutes, he relaxes. It actually feels really good. Like Blaine said, It makes Kurt feel like he matters.

"This is okay?" Blaine asks, not wanting to make Kurt feel uncomfortable.

"Yeah. It feels really nice." Kurt assures him.

The movie keeps playing softly and Kurt smiles, feeling content.

His smile fades, however, when he feels a drop of water fall on his cheek. He lifts his head to look at Blaine. The boy is obviously trying to hold back tears, his face scrunched up painfully and a few already leaking out the corners of his eyes.

"Blaine?" Kurt whispers, not knowing what else to say.

Blaine rolls slightly away from Kurt to hide his face in his hands, embarrassed.

"Blaine, what is it?" Kurt rubs softy over Blaine's back, remembering when Blaine had done the same for him that day in the library.

Blaine sniffles, keeping himself turned away from Kurt.

Kurt sits up, placing his hand on Blaine's arm and gently pulling.

When Blaine resists, Kurt stops, "Blaine, why are you so upset? Please tell me. You know you can trust me." He says gently.

Silence.

"You saw me crying before we even met and I cried on your shoulder the second time we met. I think we're past the point of being embarrassed because we're upset."

Silence.

"Blaine, please. I want to help you. That's what best friends are for." Kurt gently tugs on Blaine's arm again and this time Blaine doesn't resist.

"Will you tell my why you're upset?" Kurt asks, his hand still resting on Blaine's arm.

Blaine is quiet for a moment before he speaks, so quietly Kurt has to strain to hear, "It's so hard Kurt. It's so hard knowing that my parents hate me. That they didn't care enough when their son disappears to come looking for me. What if I was kidnapped? How did they know that I ran away? They don't even fucking care what happens to me," Blaine says, trying to sound angry, but just sounding so small that Kurt eyes start to water. More tears trickle down Blaine's face, "What's so fucked up is that they used to love me. They cuddled me and played games with me and told me that I was special and that they would never stop loving me. They lied Kurt and it hurts so fucking much. I can't even…I-I-"Kurt leans down and pulls Blaine into a tight hug.

Blaine hugs back just as tightly, letting his tears flow for the second time that night.

"I'm sorry Blaine, I'm so sorry. I hate that they did that to you because you're the same special boy that they loved. There is nothing different about you. They're just too selfish and prejudice to appreciate what an amazing, selfless, caring, smart person you are. They are missing out on the best thing that's ever happened to them."

Blaine sniffles, "Thank you Kurt."

Kurt turns off the movie and puts the laptop on the floor before crawling back under the covers and pulling Blaine into his arms.

Maybe best friends don't cuddle, but Kurt doesn't care. They both need the comfort.

They fall asleep like that. Surrounded by the scent and feel and sound of each other.


End file.
